Concrete Jungle
by Baby Jane Hudson
Summary: Santana is a bartender and aspiring musician. She gets the opportunity of a lifetime to be a music producer on a hit show. Her only obstacle is the lead actress. Can they get over their creative differences? AU.
1. Chapter 1

Santana sighed as she tossed the last trash bag into the skip, and let the lid crash unceremoniously down. She brushed her hands on the denim shorts she was wearing and used the back of her hand to brush the hair away from her eyes. She leant back against the wall of the alley and took a moment to breathe in the night air. It wasn't particularly fresh, but an improvement on the clammy steam from the kitchens and smell of stale beer from the bar, so she took the opportunity to breathe in a few lungfuls before heading back inside.

She made her way through the kitchen and pushed through the swing door into the bar area, picking up her apron and tying it round her waist, heading behind the bar.

"Skiving again, Lopez?"

Santana turned round to see that Jenny, her best friend and housemate. She couldn't contain the smile that spread across her face at the sight of her friend. She let out a squeal and ran over to hug her tightly. The two girls embraced for a few moments, then separated and made their way to the beer pumps together, Santana on one side of the bar, Jenny on the other. Luckily there was no-one waiting to be served at that moment, so Santana turned round to face her.

"Well?" Jenny just continued smiling at her. Santana let out an exasperated sigh. "How was it?!"

The girls hadn't seen each other for two months. Jenny had planned to visit her relatives in London for three weeks, but apparently she had been so charmed by all that the UK had to offer she decided to extend her trip and do some exploring on her own. When Jenny had told their boss, Dibs, she intended to extend her trip, she almost expected not to come back to a job, but he laughed and told her she had a job at the bar as long as she wanted it. They knew they were lucky he was such a cool guy. Although the girls had kept in touch on Skype, Santana hadn't exactly been sure when she would be arriving back.

"Just... Amazing." Jenny's eyes were twinkling with excitement, and she proceeded to regale Santana with stories of places she had visited and people she had met. Santana was only too happy to listen to her. She had missed her friend's voice, and although she would never admit it to her, she had actually been feeling a bit lonely without her around. She had other friends in New York, the staff at the bar were like one big family, so there was always something going on, but that didn't change the fact that when she got home the apartment would be empty, and there would be no-one to cook breakfast for on Sunday mornings and eat late night ice-cream with.

It had been five years since Santana had arrived in New York from Lima, Ohio, and she h'ad never looked back. When she graduated, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in the music industry. She was driven but also, realistic. She knew that she would first have to get a job that would pay the rent, and then concentrate on what she was really passionate about. After a couple of temp-jobs waitressing at fancy events, she finally landed herself a job at Dibson's after bumping into the owner at a small gig in Brooklyn. Santana had been there by herself, and when Dib's first spied her by the bar he had gone over with the intention of hitting on her, but this idea soon dissipated when they began chatting, and he found that this beautiful Latina was also intelligent, interesting and hilarious, and he didn't want to come off like a sleaze. They talked about the band that was playing, and she told him about what she had been doing in New York, and her ambitions to one day produce and sell records. He listened attentively and offered advice, he was really impressed by her knowledge, and was also suddenly eager to hear what her singing voice would be like. They made it their mission to try every different type of beer in the bar until Dibs' friends were telling them it was closing time and dragging them out like they were giggling school children. The party continued back at Dibs' studio apartment into the early hours. It wasn't like her to go back to stranger's houses, but it wasn't just the two of them, and there was something about him that she immediately warmed to and trusted. When Santana woke on his couch the next day with a bitching hangover, she opened her eyes to see a bottle of water, two paracetemol and a note for her on the coffee table. _"Had to head to work, didn't want to wake you. Hope you don't feel too rough today. I wasn't kidding about the job, if you're still interested you can come by tonight for your first shift." _The address of his bar was scribbled at the bottom. She smoothed the paper under her fingertips and smiled.

Everything seemed to fall into place after that. She met Jenny that first night and they immediately hit it off. It turns out most of the people she had met the previous night were also staff there, and she had never felt so much at home. Dibson's itself looked a bit divey from the outside, but it actually had a really great atmosphere. It was dark and intimate and shabby, serving great beers and more recently, great food. Dib's was majorly into music so they would always had the latest bands music playing on the speakers around the bar, and live music when they could. It was popular with students, but as time went on, it began to get a reputation as the up-and-coming place to be seen, if you're into that sort of thing. Someone had written an article about the bar in some local hipster magazine, and suddenly they were a lot busier and had even spied a couple of celebrities drinking there. Santana had loved working there anyway, and she was thrilled for Dib's to see his business doing so well.

It wasn't long before Jenny and Santana were sharing an apartment together. It made sense, they had become best friends after a few months of working together, despite being very different from one another. Jenny was excitable and outgoing, when she was excited it was difficult to get her to stop talking, whereas Santana was a little more introverted. When Santana had first met her, Jenny wouldn't stop gushing about how beautiful she was, which made Santana smile but suddenly feel shy around her. As Jenny babbled on to her, Santana looked at Jenny's blue eyes that sparkled as they gazed intensely at her, but also at how they stood out against her pale skin and the freckles on her nose. She was in fact, very pretty herself, and her mousy hair scragged up in a messy bun made her look pretty adorable. Santana knew that people were always telling her she was beautiful, and back in high school she would lap it up and use her looks to manipulate people to get what she wanted. She was the HBIC and she would do whatever she wanted, to whomever she wished. She had a reputation for being a complete bitch (and probably a bit of a slut, though most of that reputation was built on rumours), but even so all the girls wanted to be her, and all the boys wanted to be with her. It was only her closest friend, Brittany, who knew that the bitch thing was all an act, and that the real Santana was sweet and charming, but underneath it all, scared. She decided when she moved to New York that she would never treat people the way she did in high school ever again. It wasn't a hard transition, because unlike high school, no-one in New York knew who she was, and suddenly she was no longer the HBIC, but a nobody struggling to forge a music career along with thousands of other beautiful girls.

And so it had been since then, that Santana and Jenny had their habits and routines, working together and living together. They had the normal bitches at one another occasionally, but on the whole it was a very amiable situation, and one of the couldn't stay mad at the other for long anyway, on the rare occasions that they fought. Santana had been genuinely happy for her when she got the opportunity to go to London, and just a tiny bit of jealousy that she couldn't go. It was mostly happiness though because she cared for her friend, and so she was laughing along at the stories Jenny was telling her now and shaking her head at the situations that only Jenny could let herself get into. On the whole she finds Jenny's ditziness endearing, though she sometimes wishes she would just be a little more responsible.

"So what have I missed?" Jenny asks after a pause in all the talking she's been doing.

Santana shrugged. "You know how it is around here, always fun and games. Jeff _finally _proposed to Callie," she pauses for squealing and clapping from Jenny and laughs, "so we've got an awesome wedding to be looking forward to now." Jeff and Callie also worked at the bar, and had been dancing around the subject of marriage for about a year now. So the bar really _was _going to be a big family soon.

"Nothing else that's worth reporting on, but if you wanna stay up for me I'll bring some beers home and we can have a catch up?" she had spied Jenny sneaking a yawn and thought she might want to head home and have a nap.

"That sounds amazing, you read my mind. I dropped my stuff off at the apartment and came straight here to see you, I think the jet-lag is making me feel a bit delirious!"

Santana laughed and made a shoo-ing motion with her hands. "Go then! I don't think it's going to be a late one anyway, it's been pretty quiet all night." She looks around the bar as she says this and Jenny follows her gaze, nodding in agreement. She hops down from her bar stool and heads towards the door. Santana turns round and starts loading the dishwasher with the glasses she has cleared from the bar, when she hears Jenny's voice again, this time in an urgent whisper across the bar.

"Santana!" Santana spins round and Jenny is emphatically gesturing for her to come closer. She can't help but chuckle at her crazy friend as she obliges and leans over the bar and turns her ear towards Jenny.

"Ok, this could just be the aforementioned jet-lag delirium, but is that _Quinn Fabray_ in that booth by the door?"

Santana looked over to the booth, and could see a blonde girl sat there, but she was looking down at something next to her so couldn't see her face.

"I don't know, is it?"

"I'm sure it is!" Jenny was still speaking in her ridiculous hushed tones, "and if it's not, it's someone who looks exactly like her. I want to say something!" Santana couldn't help but think Jenny looked adorable by how she excited she was, but her judgment told her that even if it is Quinn Fabray, they should leave her alone. The bar had built a good rep as a cool low-key place where celebrities good hang out and not get hassled, and they wanted to keep it that way.

"No. You need to go home and get some sleep anyway, I'll let you know if it's her when I get home," she told her with a smile. Jenny shakes her head in agreement, and heads back towards the door with a little wave to Santana.

She watches as the door swings shut behind her with a smile on her face. The though of going home tonight and having Jenny there too makes her happy.

"What are you smiling about, Lopez? Don't tell me someone's finally found a way to melt your icy heart?" Dibs walks over with a teasing smile and puts his arm around Santana's shoulders.

"Urgh, no!" she says, playfully shoving him off. "You've just missed Jenny, she just got back and came in to see me."

"Seems she left in a hurry, was that just in case I wanted her to stay for the rest of the shift?" Santana laughed.

"Probably." Dibs shook his head and laughed as he headed towards the back of the bar and back into his office. Santana turned back round to the booth by the door where the blonde girl sat. It was definitely her. She had turned round to face the bar now, her head propped on her hand and a near-empty wine glass in front of her. Santana had seen her on television before and pictures of her in magazines, but she was actually stunned by how beautiful she looked in person. She was wearing dark skinny jeans and a flowing low-cut emerald top, matched with a leather jacket and killer heels. Her honey-blonde hair sat just above her shoulders, it had been styled in a messed-up fashion, and looked incredibly sexy. Her hazel eyes were looking out to the room, not focusing on anything in particular.

Santana didn't watch much TV, but she knew enough to know who Quinn Fabray is. It's hard not to, as the star of one of the hottest new shows, the actors and actresses are in every magazine and on every late night talk show going at the moment. The show focuses on the lives and loves of a group of friends living in New York, and Quinn is the star. Santana hadn't seen much of it, but Jenny was a fan. She thought it was kind of strange that the actress was sat in their bar on her own, but she looked content enough so she shrugged it off and turn around to finish loading the dishwasher.

As the evening wore on, the bar slowly began to empty. Santana made her way round the tables clearing empty glasses and wiping them as she went. She hadn't seen the blonde actress leave, but the booth was now empty, so she went to clear the empty wine glass from the table. As she was wiping the table down, she looked down to see an Iphone left on the seat. She picks it up and looks around. It must belong to the actress, but she doesn't know how long it's been since she left and so can't decide whether to see if she can catch up with her or not. She decides not to, she's the only one left now apart from Dibs who is in the office, and doesn't want to leave the bar unattended. She is sure the girl will return for it, and if not it's pretty easy to track down the owner of a phone. She slips the phone into her apron pocket and continues wiping down the rest of the tables. She bids a polite goodbye to the last group of customers who are now making their way towards the exit, and heads behind the bar to switch off the music and start shutting down the lights.

She is deep in concentration cashing up the till for Dibs when she hears someone break the silence of the bar.

"Shit!"

Startled, Santana spins round to the source of the voice, and sees the blonde actress by the booth she had previously been sat at. The girl turns round to look at her and Santana walks out from behind the bar. As she nears the blonde, she once again is struck by her beauty, and when those hazel eyes meet hers she feels a flutter from somewhere deep inside her.

"Can I help?"

"Probably not," the girl replies in a cold voice, "I was in here before and I've lost my goddamn phone."

Santana is taken aback by the girl's tone, but figures she's be pretty pissed too if she thought she'd lost her phone. She decides to step up her Lopez charm for the girl.

"Well you may be pleasantly surprised there." She pulled the phone from her pocket and held it out for her with a winning smile. The girl looked at it for a moment, then snatched it out of her hand.

"What the fuck, you took it?" Santana's face must have immediately changed to a look anger, because the girl looked like she instantly regretted her words. An angry Santana can have this effect on people, it's the HBIC in her coming out. She folded her arms in front of her.

"Yeah I took it, as I'm a part-time bartender, part-time thief. I was going to sell it but since you're back here I thought I'd just hand it straight back." She knew she was pushing it, but the insinuation that she would steal it was too insulting.

The girl looked embarrassed and shifted her gaze away, then her eyes flicked back to Santana's. The girls was looking at her intently, and she could now see some flashes of green in those beautiful hazel eyes. Now it was Santana's turn to feel uncomfortable, like those eyes were penetrating straight through her. An unreadable emotion flickered across the girls face for a moment, and then she became aware that they had been staring at one another just a little to long without saying anything, so she decided to break the silence.

"Ok. Well... Thanks then, I guess." This wasn't exactly the apology Santana had been looking for. _What a bitch. _The girl turned to leave, but before Santana could let out a breath, the girl had quickly turned and was walking back to her. She stopped in front of her, much closer this time, Santana could almost feel her breath on her face and she was startled by the flutter she felt once again.

"What's your name?" Those eyes.

"Santana." She hated how her voice suddenly sounded, all the previous confidence gone. Why was this girl making her feel shy? But now looking at the girl, she could see a flush creeping into her features.

"Santana." The girl repeated her name back to her, the coldness now gone from her voice, and instead replaced by a huskiness that Santana was pleasantly surprised by. "Seriously, thanks." The girl's hand made a movement towards her, Santana thought she was going to touch her arm, but then she changed her mind, and instead pulled it back and walked towards the exit, not turning round this time but heading out the door. Santana walked across to the door and locked it, then turned around and stood with her backed pressed against it. She took in a deep breath and look up at the ceiling, her heart was racing a little faster than it had been. _What was that?_


	2. Chapter 2

Santana swung the door to their apartment closed with her foot and tossed her keys on the table. She cringed as the door slammed but she had her hands full.

"I've got beer! And ice-cream!" She announced to the apartment. The TV was on and she could see the shape of Jenny snuggled on the couch with her quilt. The shape begins to move and Jenny's head pops out from underneath it, grinning. Santana puts the ice-cream in the freezer and loads the beer into the fridge, popping the tops off two and walking over to the couch to hand one to Jenny's outstretched hand. "What are we watching?" Santana takes a swig of beer and climbs under the quilt. Jenny lifts her legs up so Santana can sit down then puts them back on her lap but does sit up slightly so she can drink her beer. She looks at the TV then realised she needn't have asked, as up on the screen was the very face that had been looking so intently into hers earlier that evening. She chuckles to herself, shaking her head.

"What? I like this show! Was it her?" Jenny looks eagerly at Santana.

"It was her alright, and I hate to break this to you, but your girl_ Charlie _is a bit of a bitch." Santana pointed to the character on screen who was involved in some kind of argument with another character.

"No way, what happened?! You spoke to her then?" Jenny listened as Santana told her about the phone and what she had said to her, leaving out the part where the girl had made Santana feel fluttery because she wasn't even sure now if that had even happened.

"I have to say I'm disappointed." Jenny said, looking at the screen longingly, then turning back to Santana. "Does this mean I'm not allowed to watch Concrete Jungle anymore?"

"When has what I want to watch ever stopped you before?" She asked playfully, laughing at the sincere look of disappointment on Jenny's face. "Hey, she may have just been having a bad night! Besides, I thought you only watched this show so you could gaze at _Chris?_"

"Mostly. At least he will continue to be the perfect specimen of a man in my dreams, I hope he doesn't show up at Dibson's being an ass too!" They both laughed and turned back towards the screen. Santana couldn't help but study the face on screen. She was pretty, sure, but the screen couldn't quite portray the actual colour and intensity of those eyes.

The girls stayed up talking and drinking, until eventually they knew they both had to call it a night. Jenny had become tipsy pretty quickly, probably due to the jet-lag and lack of sleep, and Santana wanted to have some time to work on a new track before she went to sleep. They said their goodnights and headed to their bedrooms. Santana just knew that Jenny will have been sound asleep when her head hit the pillow. Santana on the other hand, walked over to her desk and powered up her MacBook Pro. She had first moved to New York with the intention of being a singer, and at first got a couple of jobs working as a session singer. It was a nice little boost to her income, but she wasn't even close to earning enough from it to give up her waitressing jobs. It was at one of these sessions that she met Jed, a music producer for a small record company that had only a handful of bands signed to their label. The two of them hit it off over their shared passion for music, and he began to show her the ropes in the studio. She soon found she had a natural talent for mixing, and before long she was spending more time behind the mic than in front of it. She became a sort of apprentice at the label, she didn't work there full time, and at first didn't even get paid, she was just grateful for the experience. But as time went on, he began requesting her talents to help on certain projects, and she would be paid for the work she contributed. She was attending a gig of a prospective band they were thinking of signing the night she met Dibs. The label has grown since then, and the projects Jed had been requesting her help on were becoming bigger, as were her contribution fees. At the moment they were cutting an EP for an Indie/Electro band from Brooklyn. Santana had been in the studio for the original recordings, and she was now working from home in between her shifts. This is what she loved doing, and although she had taken a different direction than she originally intended, she didn't really miss singing. This particular project was nearly finished, and she was already looking forward to the next one. Jed had been dropping hints that he's got a special deal coming up at the label, but won't elaborate because nothing is finalised yet, but that he wants to include Santana. She stays up for an hour or two, but her eyelids start to get heavy so she closes her laptop, strips down to her underwear and pulls on a hoodie before climbing into bed. Her limbs suddenly feel incredibly heavy as her muscles relax. It feels like it's been a long day. She turns over in bed and sighs. As she drifts off to sleep, she can see those hazel eyes intensely looking at her, looking through her, and she shivers.


	3. Chapter 3

When Santana arrived at work the next day, she is greeted by the sight of Jenny and Dibs laughing together behind the bar, and it immediately brings a smile to her face. Once again, she feels lucky to have a job where she can hang out with her best friends. Dibs waves her over but she signals that she's heading to the office at the back. She hangs up her jacket on the back of the door and puts her bag in her locker. She pulls out her phone, and checks it. There's a message from Jed asking her to drop by his office in the morning and one from Callie asking if she is still going to their engagement party on Saturday. She quickly taps out a reply to Jed saying she'll be there and drops the phone into her pocket. She'll call Callie later. She stops in front of the wall mounted mirror before she leaves the office, she's wearing her Dibson's T-shirt with a pair of skinny jeans and converse. She looks at her reflection, her eyes wandering over her features. Her dark eyes, her full lips, her tanned skin. She pulls her hair up and ties it back with a hair band, though a few strands still remain around her face. She tucks the behind her ears, rolls up the sleeves of her shirt and heads out of the office.

"I hear you've been flirting with celebrities again, Lopez?" Dibs asks her as she approaches the bar, a teasing smirk on his face. Santana feels her face grow warm. She's not easily embarrassed, but her and Dibs have never openly discussed her sexuality, so there was no way that he actually might know she was into girls.. She didn't even know herself for sure what she was interested in, she had only dated and slept with boys in high school, until Brittany, and that was different from anything she had ever experienced. It was over before graduation, and when Santana left Lima she didn't look back. She only knew she wouldn't ever let anyone hurt her like that again. It surprised Dibs that Santana had never had a boyfriend the entire time he'd known her, unlike Jenny who always seemed to have a boyfriend on the go, and a string of men waiting to take their place when Jenny would inevitably break up with them. He thought Santana was incredibly beautiful and and one of the funniest people he knew. She also had a fierce independence about her that he found attractive, but she worked for him and that was a line he wouldn't cross.

"Hardly." She rolls her eyes and pushes past the pair of them to pull out her apron from under the bar. Jenny and Dibs raise their eyebrows at each other and make themselves busy, Jenny picks up a drinks order and heads to a table of customers and Dibs slinks into his office.

The bar is busy, they do drinks deals for students on Wednesdays and there was a good crowd taking advantage of the offers on shooters and nachos made by the chef, Jeff. Santana was working the bar whilst Jenny was shipping food orders out the kitchen, they didn't have much time for chatting.

"Looking good, Santana." Santana looked up to see Nick stood at the other side of the bar. He was a student at NYU, and one of their weekend bartenders. He leant across the bar and was looking her up and down. It was no secret that he had wanted to get with Santana since he had started working there, and he was always flirting with her. It was mostly harmless and she didn't mind it, though didn't feel that way about him and it had now become a running joke at Dibson's whether Nick would ever give up on her, but he was pretty dedicated to his cause.

"You're so full of shit, Nick." She smiles and rolls her eyes at him. She hands across half a dozen tequila slammers and he winks at her. He gestures for her to take one, but she shakes her head. It's too busy tonight to do some on-the-job drinking, and she wanted to be clear-headed for her meeting with Jed tomorrow. She has a feeling it's going to be about this secretive new deal that's coming up, and she can't help but get a bit excited.

"You sure? I was hoping you might come join us after your shift." He attempts making a sad face at her.

"Nice try, but I have to head straight home tonight." She laughs.

"You're coming to Callie's on Saturday though, right?"

"Of course, I'm getting my party on!" With this she does a mini body pop motion. He laughs, and his eyes linger on her face, and then her body, for a moment longer and he grabs the rest of the slammers and disappears into the crowd. She smiles watching him go. She really likes Nick, she just wishes he would drop the flirting because that was never going to happen.

Dibs emerges from his office to help out behind the bar and remains there for the rest of the shift. Jenny finishes and joins Nick and his friends with their tequila. The night looks like it's heading for a lock-in when they finally close up, Jenny runs over to Santana and wraps her arms around her neck.

"Sanny," Santana hates this nickname_. _"Are you staying?" Her speech was slightly slurred and she could smell the alcohol on her breath. Jenny was generally a very loving drunk, and judging by the way she was trying to steady her swaying body on Santana, she had just about reached her limit.

"I can't, I've a meeting tomorrow morning." She kisses a pouting Jenny on the cheek and waves to the other guys and ignores the friendly jeers her exit incites from the group as she makes her way into the fresh air of the street.


	4. Chapter 4

**Jed: You are gonna be so psyched for this. C U tomorrow x**

Santana re-reads the message and smiles. She looks down at the outfit choices she has laid out on the bed., wrapped in a towel with her damp her draped over her shoulders. She usually dresses casually when meeting Jed, but she can't help but feel this meeting is special. She doesn't know how long the meeting will take and she will have to head to the bar later on, so she pulls on some small denim shorts and a Joy Division shirt and pairs with her converse. She shoves her work shirt in her battered rucksack along with her MacBook, looks in the mirror. She's worn her hair down and slightly curled. She uses her hands to tease some more volume into it, smiles and heads out the door.

She arrives at the studio slightly early, with two Starbucks cups in hand, one that she's been drinking out of (Soy latte with an extra shot) and one for Jed (Caramel Macchiato). There are a few photographers hanging round which is unusual. Not unusual for New York, but unusual for their building. They turn their heads towards her as she approaches the building, but realising that she is not anyone of notoriety, quickly go back to their conversations and phones.

It's a warm May day, and although not too hot outside, the cool interior of the reception is a welcome sensation against her skin. She smiles at the receptionist.

"Morning Phyllis!"

"Good morning Santana, no need to tell Jed you're here, he's up there waiting already!" Phyllis winks at her. Santana feels her stomach flip with excitement. _This must be something really big._

She takes the elevator up to the third floor and makes her way down the corridor. She pauses outside his office door. She was going to walk straight in, but the sound of him talking stops her. _Is someone else here?_ Suddenly she feels like she should knock. She tentatively taps on the door the best she can with the coffee cup in hand.

"Come in!" he shouts from his office. Santana pushes the door open and surveys the scene in front of her. Jed is emerging from behind his desk to greet her, but her eyes are focused on the person sat in front of his desk. _Quinn Fabray._

"I'm glad you're early!" He kisses her on both cheeks and looks down at the coffee in her hand and smiles. "I know I can always rely on you to bring you exactly what I need!" She barely notices him removing the coffee from her hand and ushering her in to the chair next to Quinn. "Quinn... This is Santana Lopez, the girl I've been telling you about." Quinn turns to her, and Santana braces herself against the gaze of those penetrating eyes. She was wearing a white summer dress with a yellow cardigan over the top. It was really pretty, in a girly kind of way.. Santana now felt grossly under-dressed in her scuffed converse, and was sure Quinn was looking her up and down.

"Santana... Nice to meet you." She holds out her hand. Santana reaches out and takes it. She takes a moment to feel Quinn's smooth, warm skin under her fingertips, not dropping Quinn's gaze. She is unable to read her expression.

"Not that introductions are really necessary, but Santana, I would like you to meet Quinn Fabray." Santana felt lost for words.

"I didn't know you were going to be here, otherwise I would have brought you a coffee too... I feel rude. Not that I would know your order... I could have rung ahead I guess..." She kind of trailed off at this point. _Ok, no words were better._ Jed and Quinn laughed, Quinn showing her perfect white teeth and made Santana feel fluttery again.

"Way to play it cool Lopez, don't tell me you're starstruck?" Santana felt her face burning and could have killed Jed. She turned to face him and could see him holding back a smirk. He loved teasing her. She threw an insincere smile in his direction to prove she didn't appreciate him pointing out her lack of composure, though really she could never be mad at him.

"So I suppose you want to know what's going on here, Santana. I know I've been pretty shady with the details lately, but I didn't want to get anyone here getting excited before we knew everything was set in stone, you know how things can be." Santana was now looking at Jed intently, avoiding Quinn. "As you know, the label has been getting bigger over the past couple of years, and although we want to stick to our roots of supporting low profile bands early on in their careers, we also want to build a reputation for ourselves as a label that can support mainstream music. We have struck up a deal with the producers of Concrete Jungle. Apparently they are going to start including musical numbers in the show as Charlie," he gestures towards Quinn, "and Chris start breaking into the music scene. We are going to be working with them to produce the songs." Santana had the distinct impression that her mouth was open now. This was a lot of information to take in. "There are going to be some covers, but mainly they want original songs. This is going to be a big project, and I really want you to be on board, Santana." At this point both Jed and Quinn are looking at her. Jed looks eager and excited, but Quinn is not giving anything away.

"Of course I'm on board, but... Exactly to what level do you want me to be involved? Shouldn't one of the other guys be in here?" She knew the panic was evident in her voice but she couldn't help it. This was... Too much. She couldn't handle it.

"A few reasons... First of all, whether you believe it or not... You're ready. Secondly, working with actors is a... Delicate process," he clears his throat and glances at Quinn, who doesn't react, "and when it comes to bringing out the performance from the artist, you're the best. Thirdly, we need some original songs. That stuff you played me when we first met... Well, it stayed with me. I know you're the one I want on this job with me." Santana stared at him. She didn't know what to say. Jed clears his throat again and breaks the silence. "Are you in?"

"Are you crazy? Of course I'm in!" Santana can't contain the huge smile that's now spread across her face. She puts her coffee on his desk, jumps from her chair and rushes round to hug Jed, and he squeezes her back. She suddenly feels this may look unprofessional and quickly straightens up and turns to face Quinn, who has been observing the exchange.

"We have a pretty strict schedule to stick to. Our first session is going to be on Sunday. We're going to meet on Saturday to discuss the song choices the studio has given us and to give you the opportunity to start planning how you want to work them." He's looking at Santana. He turns to face Quinn. "Will Finn make it?"

Quinn has been sitting passively, and now she shifts in her chair. "He won't be here until Sunday."

"Ok, so it's just going to be us on Saturday but we can make a start, I got the impression from the studio that Quinn is going to have more songs to get through anyway so maybe start concentrating on those." The two girls both nodded at Jed, then caught each others eye. Santana was smiling politely, but Quinn's expression was cool. Santana wasn't sure if Jed could feel some tension, or that he was short for time, but he stood up as if to walk towards the door, which Santana took as a hint that the meeting was, for her at least, over. Jed walked her to his door. He must have sensed her hesitation, because he then lowered his voice to tell her "This is it, Lopez. I want you on this. I'll call you later to discuss the meeting on Saturday. You're gonna be perfect." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek again.

"Nice to meet you, Quinn. Guess I'll see you on Saturday." Quinn remained seated.

"Yeah, you too."

She left the two of them in the office and headed back down to reception. Instead of heading straight out, she filled a cup with water from the cooler and took a seat on the reception area couch. She breathed deeply and tried to calm her heart that was hammering wildly in her chest. She couldn't believe what had just happened. This is big time. This is her getting the opportunity to actually do what she is passionate about.

"Exciting, huh?" Phyllis was peering over the reception desk.

"Sure is." Santana sighed, letting out a deep breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding on to.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ok so I've only just figured out how to do an author's note. Thanks for the feedback, I'm a new member so can't directly reply to any reviews yet so I'll just thank everyone. I'm sorry if this story is a little slow moving... I'm planning some major Quinntana for the next chapter, but I don't want to move things on with them too quickly so to what extent... I've not decided yet. Enjoy!**

"To Lopez!" The guys clink their beer glasses together, and the toast is followed by a moment of quiet whilst everyone takes a drink. Santana looks around at all her friends and smiles. They were all so excited for her when she told them the news about her new project. Jenny squealed with delight and hugged her tight, and immediately started firing questions at her about when she gets to meet the cast, and more importantly, when Jenny does. She knew these guys would be really supportive, but actually she was finding it hard to be quite as thrilled. She kept thinking back to the meeting and the slightly awkward atmosphere. She was glad they were having a meeting on Saturday, hopefully it would be a good opportunity to clear the air with Quinn and get some guidance from Jed about the project.

"Thanks guys, you're the best!" They've closed up the bar for the night and taking advantage of Dibs' offer of some on-the-house celebratory drinks. Dibs walks over to her now and puts his arm round her shoulder and squeezes her.

"Guess this means I'm losing you, huh?" He's looking down at her, smiling, but there is a slight look of sadness in his eyes.

"No way! I mean... I'm gonna have to reduce my hours, but if you're okay with that... I'm not leaving Dibson's! Unless you're trying to get rid of me?" She raises an eyebrow at him and he laughs.

"You've always got a job here, Lopez. And seriously, I'm really proud of you." At this Santana turns round to face him and puts her arms round his middle. She really could always rely on him to look out for her. Jenny scuttles over and they break apart.

"I still cannot seriously believe that you are going to be hanging out with Finn Hudson on Saturday! Do you think you could get him to come to Callie's party?!" Her eyes are twinkling with excitement at the prospect, Santana rolls her eyes and the girls sit down as Dibs moves away to join the other guys who are now arguing about the current music choice.

"Firstly, Finn is not going to be there on Saturday, he's doing something in LA and won't be back until Sunday. Secondly, I'm not "hanging out" with them," she makes quotation marks in the air with her fingers, "it's a meeting. Otherwise, I'm sure these complete strangers would love to come to my friends engagement party." She smirks at Jenny.

"Damn right!" Callie pipes up from the table adjacent to them. "Party of the year!" Santana laughs as Callie starts throwing some shapes, seems like she may have started celebrating a little bit earlier than the rest of them.

Everyone stays drinking and celebrating until the early hours of the morning, until it becomes clear that it's home time for everyone. Santana and Jenny catch a cab home, even though it's usually a twenty minute walk to their apartment, because Jenny's arm is slung round Santana's neck, and Santana isn't much better. It had been one of those perfect nights with friends, and not for the first time that week, she felt so grateful for the people in her life, and she fell asleep smiling.

Xxxxxxx

Santana sits on the couch with a coffee and flicks through the material Jed had emailed her through. It was mainly stuff sent though from the studio, a list of the songs they wanted the characters to sing. It seemed that for some episodes they had chosen a couple of songs, and were going to leave it up to Jed and Santana to decide which would work best. They had helpfully sent a cast list and the names of the actors who played them, along with a list of how to contact them. _Wonder how much this would go for on Ebay._ Santana smiles to herself. She opens up the recording schedule she had been sent. Jed was right, it was pretty tight, but looked as though she would still be able to pull some shifts in for Dibs. She hadn't actually discussed yet with Jed how much she was being paid for this project and didn't want to be presumptuous. Plus, she liked working for Dibs. It seemed that she would mainly be working with Quinn Fabray and Finn Hudson, and it looked like there were a couple of other characters who must have songs because further down the list she sees some other names in the schedule. Noah Puckerman. Rachel Berry. _Jenny is gonna go nuts when she sees this._ She checks the time and starts packing up her laptop and some notepads for the meeting. Jed said this meeting was going to be informal, and had given her the name and address of a restaurant where he had made reservations. He said he wanted them to get to know each other. Santana had always liked that about Jed, his working style was so informal, but he was still totally professional. Even so, Santana didn't want to risk showing up underdressed again, so she's now wearing a black fitted blouse tucked into a grey pencil skirt and a pair of black heels. She stands in front of the mirror playing with her hair, trying to decide whether to wear it up or down.

"Hot shit, Santana. Your legs look amazing!" Jenny walks up behind her and looks at Santana in the reflection, placing her hands on her hips. "You sure this is a business meeting and you're not going on some secret date? Because seriously, wow." This makes Santana blush and she spins round.

"Is it too much? Too... Revealing?" Jenny laughs.

"Since when did that ever bother you? No, it's perfect." she tussles Santana's hair and pulls it over one shoulder. "Definitely down." Santana smiles.

"You always know best!" Jenny winks at her.

"I sure do! Okay I'm going to wish you luck and scoot or else I'll be late for my shift. What time will you be at Dibson's tonight?"

"Callie told me that most people would be getting there about 7pm, so I guess around then?"

"Awesome, my shift ends at 8pm then I'll be joining you, think Jeff and Callie have put some money behind the bar and I'm sure Dibs will have too, so it's gonna be a big one!" Santana grins.

"Can't wait, see you later." Jenny kisses her on the cheek and heads out the door. Santana turns back round to her reflection and smooth down her skirt. She takes one last deep breath. _You can do this. _She picks up her bag and her phone and follows Jenny out the door.

Xxxxxxx

**Jed: Really sorry but I'm going to be late. I've called Quinn to let her know it's just going to be you two, I'll be there as soon as I can x**

_Shit. _Santana stares at the screen and her thumb hovers over the phone to type out a reply. She can't think what to say so she just throws it back in her bag and looks out the cab window. Her stomach is now doing somersaults at the prospect of leading this meeting alone. With Quinn. What the hell was Jed playing at? One of the most important deals his label has ever done and he can't even make it to their first meeting. There had better be a good reason his delay. The cab pulls up outside the restaurant, and Santana can see her hand shaking as she hands the cash to the driver. _Pull it together, Lopez. This is what you want to do._ She thanks the driver and steps out, looking up at the restaurant. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she is pleasantly surprised by Jed's choice. It is a fairly low-key restaurant and bar, that sometimes would get decent bands playing on a Saturday night. She hadn't immediately recognised the name when Jed had given her the address, but looking at it now she remembered being here with Dibs on a couple of nights out. The cab pulls away and she heads towards the door. She pushes through it and heads inside.

Her eyes take a couple of moments to adjust, compared to the glare of the street outside, it was surprisingly dark in the bar. There were booths lining the outside walls, blocking nearly all the natural light from the outside. There were dim, low hanging lightbulbs over each of the booth tables, and throughout the rest of the room were tables and chairs made up from what seemed like random pieces of furniture, nothing seemed to match. There were lamps littered around the room with different patterns of light-shades over them. Overall, it was aesthetically pleasing, if you liked the shabby-chic thing. She looks around and sees Quinn's blonde hair sat in one of the far booths with her back to her, looking at her phone. She takes a deep breath and heads over.

"Just us then?" Santana smiled as she shuffles into the booth opposite Quinn.

"Apparently so." Quinn said with a polite smile, setting her phone down on the table in front of her. Santana stops shuffling and places her bag next to her but doesn't move to take any of the work out. Before she can say anything else, the bartender comes over and asks Santana what she would like to drink. She pauses, not sure what the etiquette is. Alcohol, yes or no? She looks at Quinn's half empty glass of sparkling water and orders a Pellegrino with ice. Quinn takes the lead to talk.

"So you're what, part-time bartender, part-time music producer?" She raises her glass to her lips to take a drink but watches Santana.

"I guess you could say that, yeah." Santana can't quite read Quinn's tone and so doesn't elaborate. Quinn's expression softens a bit.

"I am sorry about the other night. I wanted to say something in our meeting on Wednesday but I didn't want to make things weird. It wasn't anything personal, I was just having kind of a bad night." Santana breathes a sigh of relief and gives Quinn a warm smile.

"Honestly don't worry about it. Glad to have been of assistance." Quinn smiles back and Santana suddenly feels more at ease and ready to discuss work. "Okay, knowing Jed, we should probably get started without him. I don't know what's held him up but it must be something important," this was a lie, Santana knew full well Jed's time-keeping was awful, "but luckily he's already sent me over the stuff for us to look over." She starts shuffling around in her bag for her notes. Quinn looks towards the back of the bar.

"Okay, I'm actually just going to use the bathroom before we start." She slides out the booth and starts to walk away when Santana stops her.

"Hey!" Quinn spins round and Santana picks up Quinn's phone and waves it at her. "You sure you wanna leave this lying around? It may not be here when you get back!" Santana winks at Quinn who is looking back at her with a stony expression. Suddenly she lets out a laugh, and gives Santana another flash of those perfect teeth.

"I guess I had that coming?" She asks Santana with a raised eyebrow.

"Last time it's mentioned, promise." She grins back. Quinn wanders off towards the back of the bar and Santana checks her phone.

**Jed: Don't kill me, I'm not gonna be able to make it. Will catch up later, let me know if u have any problems x**

_Great. _Santana sets up the work they have to look at, and when Quinn returns to from the bathroom she breaks the news that it will just be the two of them. She expected Quinn to be annoyed, but she just shrugs her shoulders and starts flicking through the song lists and schedules Santana had printed out.

"Can I get you ladies another drink?" The bartender had come back over upon seeing the girls empty glasses. Santana raises her eyebrows and turns to Quinn. "Same again?" He directs the question at Quinn.

"Yes please, gin and tonic." She turns to Santana who must look surprised, because she raises an eyebrow and smirks. The bartender turns to Santana.

"Er... Same?" She is sure she hears a tiny chuckle come from Quinn, which for some reason makes her blush. "Actually make mine a double." She tries to say this confidently, as if to save face. She quirks her eyebrow back towards Quinn. The bartender is now looking at Quinn with a bemused expression, though she doesn't turn her face away from Santana's.

"Same." She doesn't drop her gaze, so now the girls are just looking at each other defiantly. The bartender looks between them for a moment, nonplussed.

"Er... Coming right up." The girls both let out a laugh as he walks away, and Santana can feel herself blushing, though she's not sure why. She is not even sure the alcohol is a good choice, but Quinn seemed to be warming to her, and that pleased her. This meeting was getting interesting.


	6. Chapter 6

**Before we find out how Quinn and Santana's meeting goes, here's a bit of Santana's history...**

_**Jake.**_

_Jake slides Santana further up the bed then leans down again to kiss her. He presses his body on top of her and his right hand starts to explore her thigh, riding higher up her cheerios skirt. Her breath catches as his fingers work their way under her top and over her ribs, then start to edge under her bra. He puts more pressure into the kiss and slides his tongue into her mouth, his chin is rough and she can smell beer and aftershave on him. She has her hands on his sides and doesn't want to move them, in fact she is pushing against him slightly trying to alleviate the pressure of him on top of her. His hand goes back down to her thigh, and he uses his leg to nudge her leg wider. He feels her tense._

"_Relax." Santana looks back at him, breathing hard. She can hear the party going on downstairs and a passing voice in the corridor outside. Her eyes glance towards the door. "No-one cares we're in here, come on." She looks back at him and tries to push away the nagging feeling that this feels wrong, and she doesn't want it. She looks into his eyes, searching. He was the most popular guy in school, girls would kill to be in this position, yet all Santana could was how she wanted to be downstairs, laughing and enjoying the party like everyone else. "You're so fucking hot, Santana." He leant back down to kiss her, and his hand moves to the inside of her thigh. On reflex, her hand shoots out and grabs his, stopping it moving any further and she pulls away from the kiss._

"_Stop." He looks down at her, confused and slightly hurt. "I just... I can't. I'm not ready. I don't want this." She starts pushing him up, trying to wriggle out from underneath him. He rolls over to let her stand up. She takes a step back from the bed and looks down at him, her arms wrapped around herself. "I'm sorry, it's not right." He sits up._

"_Not right? Babe, we're the hottest couple in this school, and we've been together for months now, of course it's right!" Santana looks away from him, feeling a lump for in her throat and a stinging sensation behind her eyes. She knows it's not him, it's her. Something is wrong with her._

"_Can we please just leave it, Jake?" Her voice trembling slightly._

"_What, like everything? Babe, did I do something wrong?"_

"_Yeah, like everything... I don't want this." She said shaking her head and taking another step back from the bed. Jake stands up, his face darkened._

"_Don't tell me that the school slut has finally had enough?" She snapped her head back towards him, feeling the anger begin to swell. There were always rumours about her promiscuity circulating around the school, mostly bullshit. Jake had always told her he knew they weren't true and that he never thought that way about her, and although Santana knew Jake could be an asshole, she was still a little surprised and hurt that he was using it against her now. She was about to go all HBIC on him, when suddenly she just didn't have the energy._

"_Will you just leave, Jake?" She sighed._

"_Fine." He grabbed his jacket from the bed and started walking towards the door. Just before he reached the handle he turned back round and looked back at her. "Fucking dyke." He walked out and slammed the door behind him, leaving Santana alone. She turned and sat back down on the bed with her head in her hands, not quite ready to go back and face the party. Not yet._

_**Brittany.**_

_Santana stormed down the school corridor. Students ducked to get out of her way, her face frozen into a snarl, leaving a sea of whispering students behind her, all trying to fathom who this latest bout of rage would be directed at, and feeling glad it wasn't them this time. She stormed into the cheerios locker room, knowing that Brittany would be there alone at this time, just like she was every day at this time after her dance lesson. Sure enough, she was placing her things back in her locker when Santana stormed over and slammed the locker door shut in her face, the sound echoing around the empty room. Brittany jumped to face her, startled._

"_San-"_

"_Sam Evans?" Santana could barely control her voice that was trembling with anger and hurt. A look of understanding flashed over Brittany's features and she sighed, taking a step towards Santana._

"_I'm sorry -"_

"_Oh my God, it's true?" Now Santana's composure broke, even though Brittany was only confirming for her what she already knew, deep down. "Where going to tell me?" Her voice was breaking as she choked back a sob, her eyes brimming with tears._

"_Yes, I was going to! I just..."_

"_What?!" Santana snapped back, throwing her arms in the air. "Thought it would be better to hear it from some nobody in the cafeteria? So I can have my fucking heart broken with all the losers in this school as witnesses?!"_

"_It's not like that, nothing really happened until this weekend at Mike's party -"_

"_But you _knew? _You knew you liked him, and I was just... Just," Her eyes were desperately looking round the room as she searched for the words "Good for a fuck?!" She spit out these last words. Brittany's bottom lip started to tremble and she stepped towards Santana, but she stepped back out of her reach._

"_Of course not. I love you, and you're my best friend but it's just not..." She looked up to meet Santana's eyes, but she couldn't hold her gaze for long and had to look away again. "It's not the same. I really like Sam, and when we go out I know that he'll want to hold my hand and feel proud to be with me. And everyone here will know we're together and I can take him home to meet my mom, and -"_

"_To meet your mom?" Santana laughed and shook her head in disbelief. "Since when did you even care about this stuff?! I thought..." She looked up at the ceiling and let out a sob. "I thought you liked me, I thought you l-" she stopped and squeezed her eyes shut, unable to finish. She kept them closed and concentrated on calming down her sobs and controlling her breathing. She had desperately hoped that she was going to confront Brittany and be told it was just a rumour, that it wasn't true, though deep down she knew straight away. She couldn't believe that she had struggled so hard to come to terms with her feelings for Brittany, another girl, and now she was having her heart broken by the one person she trusted the most in the world. Her breaths evened and she opened her eyes again, wiping the tears away. She forced a smile and stepped towards Brittany, who still couldn't bring herself to look Santana in the eye. She cupped Brittany's face in her hands and spoke softly. "Look," she sniffed, "I'm sorry I got mad at you B, but we can still make this work. He's just a stupid boy, and we're special. You know that right? It can still be just you and me, and we can... We can go out and I'll hold your hand if that's what you want? 'Cause I love you and I don't want to lose you and please don't leave me." Her voice trembled again at this last part, and a tear rolled down her cheek. Brittany looked up at her, full of remorse._

"_I don't want to make it work." She said softly. Santana slowly dropped her hands down by her sides. "I love you as a friend, but it's not anything more than that. At least, I'm not willing to let it be anything more than that. I want the opportunity to be normal, like every other couple, and Sam can give me that. I don't want us to fall out because you're my best friend, but I'm going to try with Sam, and I'm sorry if that hurts you. I understand if you need time." Brittany was still just stood there, her face sympathetic, but her eyes avoiding Santana's. She made a move towards Santana, as if to hug her but Santana recoiled._

"_Don't!" She tried to sound angry, but it came out as a whisper. "Just go... Please." Brittany hesitated, watching Santana for a moment. A silence hung over them, until Brittany grabbed her bag and jacket and walked past Santana, stopping to give her a kiss on the cheek, then out the door, leaving Santana alone in the locker room. She felt dizzy, and put her left hand on the lockers for stability as she breathed deeply. Suddenly she didn't have the strength any more, and let her body slide down the lockers until it reached the floor. She pulled her knees into her chest and buried her face in them, letting the tears fall, and the sobs rack through her body._

_Xxxxxxx_

"_What a bitch." Jenny tore her eyes away from the photo of Brittany and Santana she was looking at to study Santana's face._

"_Yeah." She sighed, getting of the couch and walking towards the refrigerator. She swung the door open and leant on it, scanning the shelves._

"_So... You date girls?" Jenny was trying to sound cool, but this was the first time her and Santana had discussed anything like this, despite the fact they had already been living together over a month, and she was a little surprised. She placed the photo back on the coffee table._

"_Well, I dated a girl. Singular. And... Haven't really dated since." She pulled two beers out the fridge and straightened up, swinging the door shut and turning round to face Jenny, who was looking back at her incredulously._

"_No-one?!"_

"_Well, I've been on dates with boys... And some girls," she said, laughing at jenny's raised eyebrow, "but I've never let it go anywhere. I just can't seem to meet anyone where it feels... How it did, with her. And to be honest, I'm not even sure I wanna put myself in that position again, it took a long time it to stop hurting..." She handed the other beer to Jenny and sat __back down on the couch opposite her, suddenly feeling embarrassed about opening up to her so much, so she took a swig of beer and turned away, clearing her throat. Jenny continued looking at her, searching her face. Santana turned back to face her._

"_What?"_

"_Nothing." The two girls smiled at each other, pleased to have been able to open up like this._

"_Besides, I already have enough on my plate with you, it's like being in a married couple with none of the good bits!" Jenny pulled the cushion from behind her and threw it at Santana who dodged to move out the way, grinning back at her._

"_Well, you deserve someone really great. And I hope that when you find them, you give them a chance, because you can't live the rest of your life avoiding people, scared of them hurting you. Not everyone's Brittany." Santana rolled her eyes and laughed, shaking her head and turning round to face the television. Jenny smiled then turned to face it too, a comfortable silence falling over them._


End file.
